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Roll slitting
Roll slitting is a shearing operation that cuts a large roll of material into narrower rolls. There are two types of slitting: log slitting and rewind slitting. In log slitting, the roll of material is treated as a whole (the 'log') and one or more slices are taken from it without an unrolling/re-reeling process. In rewind slitting, the web is unwound and run through the machine, passing through knives or lasers, before being rewound on one or more shafts to form narrower rolls. The multiple narrower strips of material may be known as mults (short for multiple) or pancakes if their diameter is much more than their width.
For log slitting, the machine used is called a paper roll saw, which typically uses a circular saw or band saw to cut rolls into narrower ones. For rewind slitting, the machine used is called a slitter rewinder, a slitter, or a slitting machine – these names are used interchangeably for the same machines. "Slitting" refers to the process of industrial cutting the material web in a lengthwise direction, while "cutting" refers to both lengthwise and crosswise cutting operations. The roll slitting machine is called a slitter or slitter-rewinder, rather than a cutter, due to this distinction. For particularly narrow and thin products, the pancakes become unstable, and then the rewind may be onto a bobbin-wound reel: the rewind bobbins are much wider than the slit width, and the web oscillates across the reel as it is rewound. Apart from the stability benefit, it is also possible to put very long lengths (frequently many tens of kilometres) onto one bobbin.
Several methods are available for soft materials like plastic films, textiles, adhesive tapes, and paper. Razor blades, straight, or circular blades are being used. Some blades cut through the material while others crush the material against a hard roll. Those are similar to knives. The cutting blades can be set to a desired width. Some machines have many blades and can produce a number of output rolls at once. The slit material is rewound on paper, plastic or metal cores on the exit side of the machine.
The process is used because of its low cost and high precision for mass production. Some machines have a program that monitors the blades and sharpens the blades often to maintain the quality and precision of the cut. Depending on the industry and the product that is being slit these machine can run between 10m/min (special metal webs) and 1000 m/min (paper making process). The machines can also incorporate extensive automation to precisely control material tension, automatically position the slitting knives, automatically align the cores onto which the material is wound and to reduce manual handling of the rolls.
Examples of materials that can be cut this way are: adhesive tape, foam, rubber, paper products, foil, plastics (such as tarps and cling wrap), glass cloth, fabrics, release liner and film.
For harder materials, such as sheet metal, blades cannot be used. Instead, a modified form of shearing is used. Two cylindrical rolls with matching ribs and grooves are used to cut a large roll into multiple narrower rolls. This continuous production process is economical yet precise; usually more precise than most other cutting processes. However, the occurrence of rough edges known as burrs is commonplace on slit edges. Also, the geometry of these rolls is determined by specific tolerances in addition to the type of material and workpiece thickness.
For metal coils, the slitter consists of three main parts: an uncoiler, slitter, and recoiler. The material is fed from the uncoiler, through the nip between the two circular cutting wheels (one on top and another underneath), and then re-wound in slit pieces on the recoiler.
When the term "slitter rewinder" or "slitting machine" is used to describe the machine, the three parts are referred to as the unwind, the slitting section and the rewind. Slitter rewinders are normally used to slit plastic films, paper and metal foils. The unwind stage holds the roll stably and allows it to spin; it is either braked or driven to maintain accurate tension in the material. Some machines have a driven unwind which reduces the effect of inertia when starting to unwind heavy rolls or when the material is very tension-sensitive.
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Roll slitting AI simulator
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Roll slitting
Roll slitting is a shearing operation that cuts a large roll of material into narrower rolls. There are two types of slitting: log slitting and rewind slitting. In log slitting, the roll of material is treated as a whole (the 'log') and one or more slices are taken from it without an unrolling/re-reeling process. In rewind slitting, the web is unwound and run through the machine, passing through knives or lasers, before being rewound on one or more shafts to form narrower rolls. The multiple narrower strips of material may be known as mults (short for multiple) or pancakes if their diameter is much more than their width.
For log slitting, the machine used is called a paper roll saw, which typically uses a circular saw or band saw to cut rolls into narrower ones. For rewind slitting, the machine used is called a slitter rewinder, a slitter, or a slitting machine – these names are used interchangeably for the same machines. "Slitting" refers to the process of industrial cutting the material web in a lengthwise direction, while "cutting" refers to both lengthwise and crosswise cutting operations. The roll slitting machine is called a slitter or slitter-rewinder, rather than a cutter, due to this distinction. For particularly narrow and thin products, the pancakes become unstable, and then the rewind may be onto a bobbin-wound reel: the rewind bobbins are much wider than the slit width, and the web oscillates across the reel as it is rewound. Apart from the stability benefit, it is also possible to put very long lengths (frequently many tens of kilometres) onto one bobbin.
Several methods are available for soft materials like plastic films, textiles, adhesive tapes, and paper. Razor blades, straight, or circular blades are being used. Some blades cut through the material while others crush the material against a hard roll. Those are similar to knives. The cutting blades can be set to a desired width. Some machines have many blades and can produce a number of output rolls at once. The slit material is rewound on paper, plastic or metal cores on the exit side of the machine.
The process is used because of its low cost and high precision for mass production. Some machines have a program that monitors the blades and sharpens the blades often to maintain the quality and precision of the cut. Depending on the industry and the product that is being slit these machine can run between 10m/min (special metal webs) and 1000 m/min (paper making process). The machines can also incorporate extensive automation to precisely control material tension, automatically position the slitting knives, automatically align the cores onto which the material is wound and to reduce manual handling of the rolls.
Examples of materials that can be cut this way are: adhesive tape, foam, rubber, paper products, foil, plastics (such as tarps and cling wrap), glass cloth, fabrics, release liner and film.
For harder materials, such as sheet metal, blades cannot be used. Instead, a modified form of shearing is used. Two cylindrical rolls with matching ribs and grooves are used to cut a large roll into multiple narrower rolls. This continuous production process is economical yet precise; usually more precise than most other cutting processes. However, the occurrence of rough edges known as burrs is commonplace on slit edges. Also, the geometry of these rolls is determined by specific tolerances in addition to the type of material and workpiece thickness.
For metal coils, the slitter consists of three main parts: an uncoiler, slitter, and recoiler. The material is fed from the uncoiler, through the nip between the two circular cutting wheels (one on top and another underneath), and then re-wound in slit pieces on the recoiler.
When the term "slitter rewinder" or "slitting machine" is used to describe the machine, the three parts are referred to as the unwind, the slitting section and the rewind. Slitter rewinders are normally used to slit plastic films, paper and metal foils. The unwind stage holds the roll stably and allows it to spin; it is either braked or driven to maintain accurate tension in the material. Some machines have a driven unwind which reduces the effect of inertia when starting to unwind heavy rolls or when the material is very tension-sensitive.